One Wing
by inheavenshands
Summary: We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly by embracing one another.
1. My Mother

**I don't remember much about my mother. I only know her through vague tarnished memories and the stories everyone tells me about her. From what I am told, I am like her in every way imaginable. She had a gentle voice, and strange eyes that reflected a watery blue hue. But what was most captivating about her was her unnaturally long a raven hair that always flowed around her. My mother was a very abhorrent woman who always strayed away from the other villagers.**

**I do not want to call my mother an outcast, but she was not accepted by many of the other woman of the village of Kalm. My father, when he was vacant, made sure to keep her away from the eyes of the other villagers. She was strange one, always unoccupied with strangers. The only people she ever associated with was me, my father, and my sister. I was unaware of the situation of difference of my mother until I was about four. I do not want to degrade an average woman's beauty, but when compared to other individuals my mother was physically extraordinary. From the photographs I have seen of her, she did not age. She always obtained a youthful appearance even during child birth and pregnancy.**

**My mother taught me two languages, the native language of Gaia, and her native language. She called it **_**Cetran. **_**It was always strictly enforced by my parents that I never spoke my mother's native language outside of the home to strangers. I never associated with strangers in general, only my mother and my sister. My sister was my only friend and playmate. We often secluded ourselves from other children and were very close in age, only a year and a half apart.**

**My sister, Felicia resembled our father more than she did our mother. She had my father's dark eyes and ash-red hair. She was quieter than me, and often kept to herself. Although Felicia could be bossy, I still always followed her around and echoed her disposition. How I longed to be like her, even at an early age.**

**My father was never around much, his job at Shinra kept him away for weeks at a time. I didn't exactly know what he did, but all I knew was that he was a Turk. Because of his income we were able to live quite comfortable lives in Kalm. We lived in a large home in a secluded part of the village surrounded by a beautiful garden which my mother nurtured constantly. I like to think we were happy in that village together, but in reality we were utterly alone. My father has painted memories for me of what used to be, and most of what I remember is of what he has told me.**

**Or what I have chosen to tell myself.**

**As I have grown, I have realized that I have become more like my mother than I ever imagined. Or at least half of what she used to be.**

…


	2. Vague Promises

…

I am a child, barely five years old.

It is raining outside the window, and my hands are rested upon the glass in front of me. Each time I breathe a cloud of fog emerges upon the window seal. My eyes study the bodies of rain drops that have clung themselves onto the glass. I am waiting for someone.

From behind me I hear my mother cooking something from the kitchen. The food she has prepared is sizzling in the pan, and every so often I hear her jumble through cupboards and drawers. I hear Felicia's boots creep upon the wooden paneling of the floor. Every step she takes is noisy because of her impudent boots. The closer she gets to me the louder he footsteps become. I become suddenly angry, we are not allowed to wear shoes inside. _Especially boots_.

After a few moments she finally enters the room, she is breathing heavily. My eyes are still fixed upon the rain outside the window, and my back towards her.

"When do you think Dad is going to be here?" Felicia enquirers as she rocks her feet back and forth against the floor. _Squeak, squeak. _I can feel her staring hard at me, but I do not know how to answer her. I remember our father had called earlier that morning promising that he would be home this evening because he had business to do in Kalm. He would be stopping by for the night and would have dinner with us. But that promise was very vague. To me time was generally very vague. Evening could mean anytime after five o'clock and it was already six-thirty. I had been waiting by the window waiting for him to come since five o'clock. He still wasn't there. Who knows how much longer I would have to wait.

"Aren't you _bored_? You've been waiting for a long time," Felicia stated impatiently, "You should come play with me."

Felicia was still rocking her feet back and forth against the floor, patiently waiting for an answer. I was afraid to tell her no, but what was the use of waiting for our father to arrive? He probably wouldn't be home for many more hours.

"Felicia, let's play," I said sadly as I turned away from the window. My eyes strayed towards the ground as I thought of my father.

"Okay, we can play a game. I think we should play outside!" Felicia exclaimed in excitement, "But mom would probably get mad at us for playing in the rain. So let's just play inside. But! It has to be a short game, because dinner is soon. Do you think dad will come home in time for dinner?"

"_I don't know," _I mutter to myself.

"Come on. Let's play," Felicia says as she takes a step towards me and clasps my hand in hers. Her hand is warm. My eyes stray away from the floor and looked into her eyes. She has a smile on her face and her eyes are bright.

"You don't need to be sad Victoria, Dad will come," Felicia pleads as she pulls me away from the window, "He will come."

She leads me towards the hallway, but I look back at the window just one more time. I feel a glimmer of hope grow within my heart. No one was there, and it was still raining.

My father never came.

…


	3. No Signal

…

"_Team A. Do you read me?"_

Moments pass.

"Team A. Do you _copy_?"

Still no reply.

For hours Verdot had not been able to get a single reply from Team A. The connection in the area was terrible and was getting on Verdot's last nerve. The intended target to be terminated was only fifty kilometers north of Kalm. He wanted to get the job done, but to his dismay that wish had not yet been granted.

_This should have been done hours ago, _Verdot said to himself. He thought of his family eating dinner without him, and the sad expressions that would be on his daughter's faces when he finally came home. His wife had grown too accustom to this sort of disappointment, but he knew she was be angry this time.

"_Team A. Do you copy?" _Verdot asked once more into his PHS. He waited a few more minutes, and than asked again, and again. Each time with more rage than the previous, until he finally got an answer.

"This is Team A," a barely audible voice answered from the PHS, but Verdot's heart jumped in excitement._ "About time," _He mumbled to himself.

"Sorry what? Uh, Roger that?" asked the voice from the PHS.

"I don't think the connection is very good, but I will try to talk as clearly as I can," Verdot said impatiently, "I have the target points," He said slowly, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," answer the muffled voice.

"The target is _fifty kilometers north _of Kalm."

"Kalm?"

"Yes, Kalm," Verdot answered without a reply. He waited a few moments before he spoke again.

"The target is _fifty kilometers north_ from Kalm," He said one more time.

Still there was no reply.

" Oi! Can you hear me?" Verdot asked angrily. He looked at his PHS. There was no one an the other end, the call had dropped. He became infused with rage as he rushed to try to redirect with team A.

His call never got through again.

…


	4. Wake Up

…

Puddles of water gathered on the ground as the rain drizzled. Nearby was a small team of soldiers who took shelter from the rain in a nearby barn. There was only three of them, and one of the was sleeping. His gentle snores competed with the watery noises outside the barn. Every so often cold liquid would escape through the small cracks of the roof and fall onto his helmet.

The other two soldiers were wide awake conversing with each other. They talked quietly amongst themselves, being mindful of their sleeping friend.

"What's wrong?" Asked the first soldier as he turned his attention from the rain outside and towards his partner, who's attention was focused upon his PHS. He looked at the screen for a long time before he finally set his PHS down and turned his attention towards his partner.

"Dyphine, the signal is gone," informed the soldier frankly. He felt stress course its way through his veins, and he didn't know what to do. The first initialed target had been changed to Kalm, but the soldier didn't think this new inquired target was fully correct. Why would they change it?

"Are we starting the mission?" Asked Dyphine as he shuffled around on the ground. He stared at his partner for a moment, but he turned away from him and looked at their sleeping friend. Dyphine took his silence as a _yes, _and started to gather his belongings.

"You should wake up Kaye." Dyphine advised as he equipped his gun to his belt. His partner still sat there in silence, he hadn't budged one inch.

"Let's get this over with, already," whined Dyphine, "What's the target?" The rain clamored against the barn a little harder, and sleeping Kaye let out a loud snore.

"Kalm," answered his partner solemnly. Dyphine froze, and perched his eyes up. He tried to collect his thoughts, but felt too dazed.

"That's different from the coordinates we were given Jistin," Dyphine said slowly as he carefully swallowed each word, "Isn't Kalm Verdot's hometown…?"

"He probably told his family to get out of there," assumed Jistin, "Than again, he's a turk. He might just allow the orders to carry through without doing anything."

Jistin knew what he said was cold, but that didn't mean it wasn't a well known truth. Everyone knew that turk's we cold blooded, almost to a fault.

"Jistin, that's scary," Dyphine muttered, with his eyes fixed firmly on the ground, "We better start the mission before the monsters come out."

"I'll wake up Kaye," replied Jistin. He tried to push away the guilt as he carried out his task, but all he could think about what was how cold a turk really could be.

…


	5. Good Night

…

"Mommy, I'm not tired!" I whine as she carries me up to my room. My mother gently pats my back and begins humming a lullaby.

"_Hush little one," _She sings beautifully, trying to get me settled down, "What if I tell you a story?"

"A story would be nice," I reply as I play with the ends of her hair with my fingers. I feel small in her arms, but safe.

"How come Felicia gets to stay up twenty more minutes?" I ask, "I want to stay up and wait for Daddy too."

"Victoria, you need to stop asking that every night. Besides, you get to spend a whole twenty minutes alone with me. I am all yours for the taking. Felicia won't get to steal me away from you at all," she replies with faint laughter. Even though I don't see her face I know that she is smiling.

We make our way to my room and I rush towards my drawers searching for what pajamas I want to wear tonight.

"Do you want me to tell you a story, or should I read you one?" My mother asks. I ignore her and start to rip off my clothing. As it falls upon the floor my mom picks it up.

"Mommy, will Dad come?" I dare to ask. There is a silence and my mother freezes.

"I don't know Victoria," She says with a distant tone, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"Will he be here tomorrow morning?" I ask again as I begin to slip into my pajamas. I hop into my bed and ruffle around the sheets.

"I don't know if he will be here. But I will be here." My mother replies with faint happiness. I never quite understood why she was so strong, but maybe it was just a mask to hide weakness.

"I will be here too," I promise. My mother laughs and runs her fingers through my hair. A smile forms on her face as he eyes light up.

"You'll always be here," She reminds me happily, "Where else would you go silly?"

"Well, no where," I say with a little bit of confusion. I never picked up on humor very well as a child, even with my mother.

"You're so serious!" My mom says with a laugh, "I was only kidding. Of course you would never leave me."

"I'd never want to leave you Mommy,' I earnestly reply. She smiles at me and puts her hands in mine. Her eyes stray away from mine and become downcast as she looks into space.

"Daddy does love you, but he can't be here right now. He is doing work," she says solemnly, "There's no need to wait by the window anymore."

"Mommy what do you mean?" I ask, slightly puzzled.

"You always wait by the window Victoria for someone who is not even there. Don't do that anymore."

"But I want to wait for Daddy-"

"-He'll come eventually," My mother says as she interrupts me, "He will come when he can."

I look down at my mothers hands that are rested in mine. In the other room I hear the telephone ring. My mother let's go of my hands and stands up.

"That must be your father," she states frankly as she starts to leave the room. The phone stops ringing and I hear Felicia answer it, but her voice is muffled. I can't make out what she says.

"_She shouldn't have answered it," _My mother muttered to herself. She begins tucking my into bed.

"You need to go to bed now Victoria," she orders, "Time to sleep. I promise I will tell you a story tomorrow, but I need to go get the phone."

I adjust myself under my covers, and my mother kisses my lightly on the forehead. She begins to leave the room but than stops once she gets to the door.

"I love you Victoria," she says softly, and than turns off the light. She closes the door a bit, and walks down the stairs. Her footsteps grow more faint with each step, until there is utter silence.

I close my eyes and try to sleep, but the dreams do not come. Tears roll down my cheeks as I slaughter my false hope for my father's arrival.

That was the last time I ever saw my mother.


End file.
